


we finally got it all right

by doingthemost



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Based on Happiest Season (2020), F/F, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:09:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29837211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doingthemost/pseuds/doingthemost
Summary: Alexis brings Twyla home for the holidays. She just forgot to tell her parents a few important details. (A Twylexis spin on aHappiest Seasonredo.)
Relationships: Alexis Rose/Twyla Sands
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31





	we finally got it all right

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sonlali](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonlali/gifts).



> Wishing you the happiest birthday, sonlali! I'm so glad you're in my life. ❤️ title from "i choose you" by sara bareilles. 😘 art from a mysterious benefactor.

"You're sure they're going to like me?"

Alexis tilts her head sideways, smiling crookedly over at Twyla from the driver's seat. " _Yes_ , babe, for the thousandth time. They totally will. They already _do_ like you!"

"But they've never met me." Twyla twists her hands in her lap. "They might like the sound of me, but then they meet me, and –"

" _Twy_. You're perfect. Everything's going to be fine!"

But there's something to the way Alexis holds herself – a stiffness to her shoulders as she drives, maybe, or the way her smile doesn't fully meet her eyes – that has Twyla second-guessing. 

"Are you _sure_?" Twyla doesn't mean to get all psychologist on her girlfriend, but desperate times call for desperate measures. "Because there's, like, this tension that you're giving off, like there's something you want to talk about."

Alexis huffs; her hair flips with the sheer strength of her head-wiggle alone. That alone would be enough to spike Twyla's concerns, but then she bites her lip and her eyes soften in a way that Twyla recognizes from when they've managed to resolve their lovers' quarrels in the past. They've come a long way from when they met as college kids, and they know how to read each other now. Twyla doesn't think she'll ever get used to the way her heart melts whenever she sees Alexis put down her armor. 

"Okay," Alexis says finally. "There is, like, one thing." She looks over at Twyla again, the briefest apologetic flash of her eyes, before she adds, "I kind of... haven't told them that we're actually dating?"

"Wait – what?" 

Twyla had been expecting anything else – that Alexis' parents, rich as all hell, weren't comfortable with Twyla's lower class background, or that they didn't like her choice of career. But this is something different, and her eyes go big as she tries to parse out what she's feeling.

"But you know they're totally, like, cool with queer people! Since David is, well. He's David. And he and Patrick will be there, so the more the merrier."

Twyla rolls her lips together, anxious. "Do they at least know that I'm coming?" 

"Yes! They totally do. Adelina told me that she put extra towels for you in my wing, so. You're definitely _expected_."

"Okay." That's a start, and Twyla feels a little bit better, but she can't let Alexis off the hook just yet – even if she's so pretty in that oversized knitwear she's wearing, something Twyla picked out for her a few weekends ago downtown. 

She takes a deep breath. "Do they know that _you're_ queer?"

"Um," Alexis says. She shoots Twyla another apologetic look, but this time Twyla's more receptive to it. She'd been there for Alexis' whole queer awakening, years in the making through college, and she'd only truly come out to their friends after she and Twyla had started dating a year ago. "I haven't said it yet? But I'm, like, 99% sure that they know from, like, that time when Page Six published all those rumours about me having that threesome with Taylor and Karlie." 

Twyla reaches for Alexis' hand. "You don't have to remind me about that." 

"I know. But, like, for the record, we just kissed. And it was 'cause I was, like, in love with you."

"I know." Frustrating and ridiculous as Alexis can be, Twyla's never had a choice in the matter; she's loved Alexis since the day they met. "I know," she says again, letting her voice soften. "I love you, too. I just wish you'd given me a heads up about all of this stuff."

Alexis sighs. "I just wanted to tell them everything in person. But you know how their schedules are. It's a miracle that they're even here for the holidays this year. I swear, though, they know you're coming! I told them you're super important to me and that I had some big news to share, and –" She takes another deep breath, and squeezes Twyla's hand. "I just got so _nervous_ , Twy. You know I've never brought anyone home before, or got anywhere close to that, before you."

"That would've required you to actually date anyone before me," Twyla points out, wry. 

The comment does its job; Alexis laughs, eyes grateful, and a little more of the tension leaves the air. "I just love you so much, Twy. You know I do. And I want them to love you, and I want you to love them, and I know doing it over the holidays isn't, like, ideal, but. I'm sorry."

"I know, baby." Nothing about it's ideal. But Twyla learned to expect the unexpected six years ago, when they'd first met. She hopes the ring in her suitcase will be a good enough sign of just how willing and ready she is for a lifetime of the unexpected. This holiday trip may not be the right time for her to give it to Alexis after all, but it doesn't change a single thing about her intentions. 

"I love you, too. And I still can't wait to meet your family."

  


  


  


The rest of their drive is less eventful. Now that the weight's off Alexis' shoulders, she seems to truly relax. She tells Twyla stories of her childhood: how much David hated supervising her whenever she wanted to go swimming, all of the weird Broadway stars her parents would bring home for dinner parties and home-thrown galas, the time she and David tried every single ice cream flavor on the main thoroughfare and how it was totally worth how sick they were afterward. 

It's all a far cry from Twyla's childhood and the family she distanced herself from when she decided to apply for Columbia's scholarships and get herself out of Schitt's Creek. There's a part of her that will always love and miss them, but she doesn't think she'll ever stop marveling at the twist of fate that led her to this moment. She's always made fun of how Alexis pays exorbitant fees to keep a car in New York City, but as they continue down Long Island towards Montauk, she's absolutely certain she could get used to road trips and adventures with this unpredictable woman. 

The Rose family compound is sprawling and immense, visible from afar as Alexis points out the different areas: her wing, David's wing, her parents' wing. Alexis' money has never been a secret – the apartment they share in the Upper West Side's a testament to that – but she can't help the way her nerves spike the closer they get to it. 

Twyla remembers hearing all about the Rose family idiosyncrasies and expectations during late nights watching the sun rise above the city skyline. She looks down at herself, appraising her outfit the way she imagines Alexis' mother, a genuine theatre icon, will look at her. They'd given up on keeping separate closets early on, and she can't remember if any of what she's wearing was ever truly her own, but will it be enough? 

She's never been able to entirely hide her feelings, so she isn't surprised when Alexis leans over, both of them still with their seatbelts on despite the car being parked, and pulls her in for a kiss. Alexis' hand cups her face, steadying her nerves as Twyla's eyes close and the kiss lingers. 

"I love you," Alexis whispers, leaning her forehead against Twyla's. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell them about us."

"I love you, too." Twyla smiles, meaning it with every fiber of her being. "And it's okay. Everything's going to be okay." 

Alexis takes a deep breath, then takes Twyla's hand once they've gotten their suitcases out of the car. She doesn't let go even once she's unlocked the door and let them inside, not even as they cross an immense foyer and find the rest of the Roses in a gigantic living room.

"A _lex_ is!" Her mother's crossing the room in long, gliding strides, and Alexis holds onto Twyla's hand even as her mother pulls her in for a hug. 

"I see you learned how to only be fifteen minutes late," David says. He's smiling, though, and so is Patrick. Twyla sees them all the time in the city, but she's never been more thankful for their presence. 

"Twy keeps me accountable," Alexis says. She pauses, steeling herself, then adds, "Mom, dad, this is Twyla. My girlfriend." 

"Wow, honey!" Alexis' father is louder than Twyla realized he would be. "We're so... surprised!"

" _David_ ," Alexis hisses. "Did you _tell_ them?"

"In all fairness," David says. "Patrick didn't realize it was a _secret_ , since you and Twyla have been friends for literal years?"

Twyla can't quite suppress a laugh. "He's got a point, Lex."

"Well – either way," Alexis' father adds, "we're so glad that you're here, Twyla. And that you're, you know. Keeping our daughter company." He raises his tremendous eyebrows, and Alexis makes a face.

" _Dad_!" 

Twyla's eyes meet Alexis' as her father pulls her into a tight hug, and she finally feels like she can relax. Despite its unconventional start, it really should be the happiest season after all.


End file.
